Form and use plurals: review
Key Notes:
Regular Plurals:
- Adding -s: Most nouns form their plural by simply adding “-s” to the end.
- Examples: cat → cats, book → books
- Adding -es: Nouns ending in -s, -sh, -ch, -x, or -z form plurals by adding “-es”.
- Examples: bus → buses, box → boxes, wish → wishes
Plurals of Nouns Ending in -y:
- If a noun ends in a consonant + “y”, change the “y” to “i” and add “-es”.
- Examples: baby → babies, city → cities
- If a noun ends in a vowel + “y”, just add “-s”.
- Examples: toy → toys, key → keys
Plurals of Nouns Ending in -f or -fe:
- Some nouns ending in “-f” or “-fe” form their plural by changing the “f” or “fe” to “v” and adding “-es”.
- Examples: leaf → leaves, wolf → wolves
- However, some nouns simply add “-s”.
- Examples: belief → beliefs, roof → roofs
Irregular Plurals:
- Some nouns have irregular plural forms that do not follow standard rules.
- Examples: child → children, man → men, mouse → mice, foot → feet
Plurals of Compound Nouns:
- For compound nouns, the main noun takes the plural form.
- Examples: mother-in-law → mothers-in-law, passerby → passersby
Plurals of Nouns Ending in -o:
- Some nouns ending in “-o” add “-es” to form the plural, especially if they are of Italian or Spanish origin.
- Examples: potato → potatoes, hero → heroes
- Other nouns simply add “-s”.
- Examples: piano → pianos, photo → photos
Plurals of Foreign Words:
- Some foreign words keep their original plural forms.
- Examples: cactus → cacti, bacterium → bacteria, criterion → criteria
Nouns with the Same Singular and Plural Form:
- Some nouns have the same form for both singular and plural.
- Examples: sheep, deer, series, species
Using Plurals Correctly in Sentences:
- Emphasize subject-verb agreement. Plural nouns require plural verbs.
- Correct: The cats are playing.
- Incorrect: The cats is playing.
- Ensure that possessive forms of plural nouns are correctly formed.
- Example: The dogs’ leashes (for multiple dogs).
Let’s practice!✒️
